Posts Tagged ‘crochet’

The 1st of January saw the announcement of the grand total raised by the Flower Power Fund. I posted on Instagram about it on New Year’s Eve, with a bit of back story as to how I became involved in this brilliant community fundraiser…

Honestly, when Sarah first got in touch with an idea to raised funds by asking independent dyers to create flower-inspired yarns, she thought she might raise £1,000. She also involved other crafters, ran a MARATHON and had regular raffles (all while working as a Doctor for Marie Curie).

Sarah had an existing network of lovely creatives, which just blossomed and really got behind her (self titled) slightly bonkers idea with such enthusiasm.

A post shared by FlowerPowerFund (@flowerpowerfund) on Jan 1, 2019 at 8:13am PST

£22,628.91 raised for Marie Curie!!!!

A new yarn was released every month (sometimes more than one) with the dyers donating a percentage of the proceeds. A lot of the yarn sold out almost instantly, and dyers were frantically trying to keep up with orders.

A post shared by FlowerPowerFund (@flowerpowerfund) on Jan 1, 2019 at 9:52am PST

I did the branding for the project, and then drew each month’s flower and sold the prints. I also designed my first pin. A percentage of all my sales was part of the grand total. My initial thought was that I might raise £50…

But I raised £1082.12! I really hadn’t sold that much via my online and Etsy shop this time last year. I’d had a couple of really depressing attempts at craft shows and felt quite dispirited. So it was amazing when people started to buy the flower prints, and the 200 pins sold out!

I am still feeling a bit reflective and looking back at last year, thinking about what worked and what didn’t, what rocked and what flopped, so that I can put some really solid plans in for the coming year. My little social business is still in the early stages in a lot of ways and I am excited about helping it to flourish in 2019. There are a few things in the pipeline, and if you have a project or idea you think I could help with, do get in touch 🙂

The Yarn Badger very kindly donated 5 Goose Eye hat kits in different colours (with a name like that, they had to get involved). 100% of the sale price of each kit is going to the badgers! They include yarn and instructions, and are selling quick, so do order soon if you want one. You can find them here.

My lovely and talented friend Jane Brumwell made beautiful Stirling silver and copper progress keepers. They are each rolled with the impression of a skeleton leaf, and are so delicate. Each one is unique! You can find them in the shop here.

Wow. September is here. At the same time as feeling like it’s been a really long summer this year, I also can’t quite believer we are now heading into autumn. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know I’ve been a bit of a mess as my little boy starts a new preschool (he’s absolutely fine of course).

Every month, new indie dyers and makers create lovely things for cratfers on a flower theme, with a % of all sales going to Marie Curie. This month, it’s all about Love-in-a-Mist, with a beautiful new yarn from Eden Cottage Yarns , a bag from Betsy Makes (both of which have sold out already!) and a new print from me:

I used to work for a charity, and so am really aware that fundraising can be really, really hard. It takes a lot to get people on board with a cause, and we are so often asked to give that we can just get fed up and burnt out.

So it’s been fascinating to have been involved with two big charity projects this year that have done some really magical things.

The #titsoutcollective ran throughout July, with creatives all over the world making and buying things inspired by the amazing Countess Ablaze. She started it (accidentally) with a knitting yarn that the she created in response to an approach from a business to get lots of things for free in return for ‘exposure.’ She raised £3,000 for charity the sale of. that. Then in July, she rallied 287 people to make were making things and donating a portion of their profits to their favourite charities. You can find out more about it all at the Countess Ablaze website here.

By the end of the month, a staggering £55,219 had been raised for those charities, including a whopping £8,000+ just for Mind through a raffle! It was all a bit overwhelming to be honest. The community buy-in and the way everyone was able to so quickly pull something together was inspiring. And the Countess herself, with her huge community of Instagram followers, fans and her general all-round kick-ass presence meant that something huge came together almost instantly. You can read about my contribution to the project here.

Meanwhile, the Flower Power Fund, a year-long project which was started by knitter Sarah Holmes in January with a goal of £1,000, has been smashing its target over and over again. Also based in the knitting and crafts community, every month there are new goodies for sale that donate a portion of their proceeds to Marie Curie. The engagement and supportive vibes that are involved in this project are so lovely, and I’ve made so many new friends. It’s awesome!

A post shared by FlowerPowerFund (@flowerpowerfund) on Jul 26, 2018 at 9:47pm PDT

I keep thinking about both of these projects with my charity hat on and pondering exactly what it is that makes them so successful, and in a way it’s something that charities themselves would struggle to replicate because it starts at the community level. Although Sarah works for Marie Curie, its not on the fundraising side and she’s managed to connect with a ready made big and quickly growing audience of enthusiastic and bought-in people.

I am absolutely LOVING working this way, and would love to here from you if you would like any help from me for your charity or fundraising projects, do say hello :